Forty-three passengers were killed when a private bus plunged into River Tons in remote Nerwa area of Shimla district today.

The passengers were on their way from Vikasnagar in Uttarakhand to Tuni and the accident took place on the Uttarakhand-Himachal border in Himachal territory, Deputy Commissioner Shimla, Rohan Chand Thakur said.

The bus was carrying 56 passengers

SP, Shimla, D W Negi said 43 bodies have been recovered and the search is on for the rest.

Police along with medical and rescue teams have been mobilised from Sirmaur and Shimla districts to help in rescue and relief operations at the spot, about 190 km from here.